The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-04-08
They Appear at Harrisburg and Proceed to
Inyestigate--Powderly Rejoces Over the
Defeat Of the Chicago Socialists,
And Utters Strong, Manly and Earnest
Words in Behalf of Temperance.
The Chicago Carpenters Reject the PROPOSE
tion of the Employers and Will Continue
the Strike-Labor News of ALI Kinds.
TWO SPEECHES By PowDERLY.


from Harrisburg says the Knights of Labor
convention organized this afternoon by electing
General Treasurer Turner chairman and G. NJ.
Painter. of Columbia, secretary. The purport
of the gathering is best explained in two
speeches which General Master Powderly made
-one before the convention and another this
evening in the hall of the House of Representa-
tives. There were about $50 delegates. COM
prislng a fine body of men. After organ.
lzation there was secret session,
in which seven committees were appoint
ed. to which will be referred the various
bills to be considered by the convention The
names of the men who compose these commit
tees it was decided to keep secret for reasons
best known to Mr.. Powderly. but there was no
objection to making public the purposes for
which the committees were named. They will
examine bills relating to the bitumnous and an
thracite coal mines ana mining, iron industries,
slate mining and quarrying, agriculture and
lumber, oil and oil production and miscellaneous
subjects. All the convention did beside routine
work was to administer the oath of secrecy to
official stenographer James F. Burke. of Pitts
burg. and to listen to Mr. Powderly.
His speech before the convention and his
$50 men and women greeted him with hearty
applause when he entered the house Repre-
sentative Caffrey introduced him, whereupou
Mr.. Powdery said:
sIt IS with feeling of pride that address a
meeting gathered in the House of Represent
atives of my native State on the question OF la
Dor, not only as 1t relates to workingmen, but
In broader sense as it relates to all. feel it
my duty to speak in regard to this convention.
L
through their representatives to meet with the
chosen representatives. of the people, regardless
of party. to confer with them measures to
benefit our State. We are charged with being
lobbyists labor lobby. Mr.. Powderly here
referred 10 an editorial in a Philadelphia paper
which makes that charge. Lobbyists we.a
here before US. and will be here when we are
gone, but we are not here as lobbyists. We
came here to say to the Representatives of the
Commonwealth, euch and such a measure is
good; others not
Before every election candidates ask the work
ing people to vote for them They say do SO
and so, and we will render an equivalent. Hav-
ing made this promise, we certainly have a
right to come and see if this promise has been
fulfilled. / have frequently been asked II such
and such bill is good measure. As knew
nothing about the hills generally sent them to
the secretary of the assembly in the locality
where the inquiry came from. In one instance
l received the reply that such a bill had never
been seen there. The title had been cut off the
original one sent to Harrisburg and another sub
stituted.
I'VE made up our minds that as we represent
a good portion of the Commonwealth we had
right to see if pledges made had been fulfilled.
There is nothing in this that is wrong-notning
of the lobbyist. We have no bribe, no inducc-
ment, to offer. We give you our reasons why
we a SIX you to vote for this or that measure and
leave the rest to yourself. When you come
home and find you voted the wrong way.
have the right to vote for the other fellow.
Laughter and applause That's the American
idea More laughter and applause
II read of the result of the elections in Chica-
go the other day, and was glad to and hear
that the workingmen of that great city were
good enough to throw the lie back into the faces
of those who posed as their friends and repre-
sentatives. No sooner did the Anarchist ticket
go before the people than it's supporters said
We will carry the ticket through under the flag
on whose face not one star elistens, not one
stripe is to be found, and the teachings Of
such men as Powdery and Gr:ffiths will have
no weight with u.s. But they found on election
day that anarchy was showed under as it was
never showed under hefore, and say amen to
that every time. [Grear applause did not
know but that in the decoration of this hall you
might forget to place the American flag on the
wall on Thursday-that it might be forgotten
brought this with me this morning
Here Mr.. Powderly exhibited a flag
amid tremendous applause. And i brought
1t here SO that if it were charged that we
were not Americans-,hat l don't care where
was born-shat l don't where the rest of
| by that flag. and other. Here Mr.. Powderly
presented the flag to NJ. T. Burk. of Carbondale,
| old friend. Let them to-morr morning,
after those outbnrsts of applause. charge with
| being anything else But free-born American cis-
| liens. and those manifestations which You have
| now given expression to will be the rsfutation
| of that lie, which will ring down the centuries in
| condemnation of the red flag. Now, my
| brothers, are here, and will stand or fall
| by the sentiments have given utterance to. We
| are here Americans. to watch American legis-
latiOn in the interest OF the American people,
| and in our American way; and also to saw that
! those men who assembled hundred years ago
! in the city of Philadelphia. and gave out the
| Declaration OF Independence to the world,
were right when they declared that
and endowed with certain inalienable rights, and
| that we believe they told the truth, and that it
still continues to be the truth instead of living
| lie, as some OF those men would have people be-
/ lieve Applause. We can do this without be-
| ing Anarchists. and do it without becoming
partissns and without being tied to the chariot
wheels of either of the old Dem ocratc Re-
| publican parties" Applause.
| 1t was now he said an impossibility for a me-
chanic to enough by his own labor to sup.
| port his family He had to call in the help of
! his wife and children. He wanted the barrier
between q life of shame and life of virtuous in
dustry greater than so cents day. The chill
dren should be taken off the coal breaker and
kept at school until sixteen years Old The Re-
| public could not exist on foundation of igno-
|
should be established and the hard and
| brain educated at the same time
| The Legislature, few years ago. would not have
| paid the slightest attention to labor organiza
ton, but now the Knights of Labor could defeat
| any candidate. and so a word to the wise in this
| Legislature would be sufficient. The boycott
| was wrong for the man that was boycotted. and
so was back-listing wrong for the man that
made the blacklist He did not believe in
either; he believed in arbitration. and he would
make arbitration compulsory.
In conclusion he said:
els it not more honorable to come here like
men and confer with representatives as to
what ought to be done. and go away and say we
have rather aided than retarded work. l was
proud 10 meet the delegation that came here to-
day. 1t was larger than expected. I saw in
that delegation sign of hope. Not a man was
under che influence of liquor ! spoke to manv
and all told me that they neither tasted, touched
nor handled liquor. OF all our officers not one
touches. tastes handles that which degrades
the soul and damns the body--hquors."
Among the bills to be presented to the conven
ton is one drawn up by Ben Butler Assem- bly,
1851, Of Stoneboro. Mercer county. and which
| has been sent to Mr.. Hall, of Mercer. with th'